THEY got their name from a disparaging remark by the German Kaiser, but the Old Contemptibles were anything but contemptible.

Wilhelm II is said to have dismissed the British Expeditionary Force which faced the Germans in the early months of the First World War as a “contemptible little army”.

In fact, despite heavy losses, it withstood the German onslaught at Mons, The Marne, The Aisne and Ypres and kept the enemy from the Channel ports.

After the war, survivors of the force took the Kaiser’s words and formed the Old Contemptibles Association. It had 178 branches in the UK and 14 overseas and members were known as ‘chums’.

The picture above shows some members of the Oxford branch, proudly displaying their medals, at their headquarters, the Wheatsheaf pub in High Street, in 1974. They were there to discuss arrangements for a parade at Aldershot to mark the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War. Sadly, this would be the last time they would march in a national parade.

The number of members of the association had been dwindling rapidly as the men had aged.

At that time, the Oxford branch had just 21 members, three having died earlier that year.

The number attending meetings hadn’t exceeded 12 for some years as many were too infirm to leave their homes.

At the final parade at Aldershot, it had been decided that six members would represent the branch, led by Captain Sid Waine, the secretary, who had served in the Army in both world wars.

We know the names of the men in the picture, but not necessarily in the correct order. They are: Cecil Bond, 88, of Abingdon (Royal Engineers and Royal Flying Corps); George Dalley, 86, of Oxford (19th Royal Hussars); R H G Hatton , 81, of Banbury (Royal Fusiliers) Bill Wade, 80, of Oxford (Royal Field Artillery); Arthur Moulder, 87, of Oxford (Hertfordshire Regiment); Charles Beeks, 82, of Kidlington (King’s Shropshire Light Infantry) – he is holding the plaque; Charles Ham, 80, of Oxford (Royal Corps of Signals, Royal Army Service Corps and Chief Officer of Morris Motors’ fire brigade); Captain Sid Waine, 80, of Oxford (Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars); Mark Hooker, 79, of Horspath (Queen’s Royal West Surreys); Frank Carter, 84, of Oxford (Royal Army Service Corps); John Coppock, 84, of Oxford (Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars); and Fred Haynes, 88, of Oxford (2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry).

We know that Charles Beeks won the Distinguished Flying Medal for his heroism. Can anyone tell us of the war record of any of his fellow Old Contemptibles?

Memory Lane this week

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